Shadows of Oblivion/Chapter 3
As the captain gave his command, the elderly man pulled out a blade, saying, “Don’t expect me and my grandson to simply role over.” with a defiant look in his eyes. The captain, upon seeing this, grinned and said “You have much spirit in you… now before you die, why don’t you give us a name so we now who we kill?” The old man, upon hearing this, uttered, “I am Oden, and this is my grandson Link. We don’t kindly to you bandits or your threats, and I’ll give you this one warning… Leave now and you will be spared.” Upon hearing this, the captain threw back his head and laughed alongside his men before saying “Do you not know who you are dealing with, I am captain Vegas of lord Zenith’s grand army, not some common scum like your bandits and highwaymen… now for insulting us, we will make you die as slowly and painfully as possible… get him!” With that command his group of soldiers descended from the mounts, blades in hand, and slowly advanced on them both. The first one swung forward at Oden, only to have his wrist grabbed and twisted, causing him to drop his sword to the ground. Before he could even react the hilt of Oden’s sword slammed upward into his lower jaw, breaking it. Dazed, a following punch caused the soldier collapsed onto the ground. Clearly angered, the rest of the soldier charged forth. The first pair attacked in unison, only to have their blades blocked by a combination of blade and dagger. Temporarily caught off guard, Oden used this to his advantage, parrying the blow before stabbing his dagger into leg of the soldier on his left, causing him to let loose a cry of pain before being kicked backwards, allowing Oden to focus on his partner. At this time, the forth soldier attempted to attack him from behind when he was suddenly tackled from the side by Link. Both slammed into the ground before Link gained the advantage, repeatedly punching the soldier in the face before be knocked off by right hook. The soldier quickly righted himself, and feeling the blood pouring from his broken nose, angrily growled before picking up his blade and charging. Preparing for this, Link dug an arrow out of the quiver, rolling to the side as the soldier swung downward and then jabbed it into his foot, causing him to howl in pain. Taking the opportunity, Link jabbed his fist deep into the man’s gut, causing him to give out a gasp for air before Link brought down both his arms onto his head, knocking him out. Watching his men being wiped out by two simple commoners, Vegas snarled as he grabbed for his mace. He would finish this fight himself. As that occurred, the soldier who had been stabbed in the leg managed to pull the dagger out, and seeing Link distracted, made his way behind him when he was suddenly struck in the back of the head from behind. Collapsing to the ground, Link saw Oden standing behind the beaten man, apparently having already finished off the other soldier who now lay moaning on the ground beside him. Suddenly a mace came swinging down upon his shoulder, being wielded by captain Vegas. As he fell to the ground, Vegas raised his mace again in order to finish him off, only to have an arrow pierce his arm. Dropping the mace, he yelled in pain before falling off his startled steed. As that happened, Link dropped his bow and ran by his grandfather’s side, saying “Are you okay?!” Holding his shoulder for a moment, Oden then said, “Don’t worry about me, my boy… take my sword and take care of that scoundrel.” Nodding at this, Link grabbed the blade and raised it, causing its steel to glint in the mid-afternoon sun. Vegas raised himself from the ground, cursing in some foreign tongue before ripping the arrow out of his arm and saying “I’m gonna gut you like a fish for that!” before grabbing and tossing his mace forward before unsheathing his blade and swinging forward. Link easily sidestepped the mace and then raised his blade to defend himself from the captain’s vicious slash. Nearly losing his grip on the blade, Link countered by knocking the attack upward before swinging forward himself, attempting to catch his opponent off guard. Undaunted, however, the captain parried the blow easily before punching forward, nearly striking Link across the jaw. Link, however, avoided this by jumping backwards, causing Vegas to lose his balance. Clearly angered, Vegas ran forward, swinging his sword as he did, though only to have it blocked once again. For several minutes both fighters blocked and evaded one another’s blows, neither able to gain a clear advantage until, as Link attempted to strike him in the side, Vegas struck him in the wrist, causing him to drop his blade. Before Vegas could get a blow in, however, Link kicked him in the gut, causing him to stumble backwards as the force of the blow caused Link himself to collapse backwards onto the ground. Growling, Vegas charged forward, holding his blade above his head and prepared to perform the death blow when Link caught him with his foot, causing him to go flying over him and smash into the ground. When Vegas opened his eyes, he found himself staring at Link’s blade. Growling, he waiting for the end, but instead heard Link say, “Leave… you and your men leave now.” Getting up, he saw that his men had already gotten back upon the horses and were ind the midst of retreating. Seeing that he was beaten, he himself mounted his steed, he said, “This doesn’t end here… I will have my revenge!” before vanishing into the forest. Standing watch for several more minutes in order to make sure that they had indeed fled, he thought of how he had never killed another man before, which was to him the main reason for sparing their lives, and wondered whether or not he would regret this act of mercy. Link then remembered his grandfather and ran towards his side and attempted to lift him up, only to hear him say, “I guess I’m not a young as I used to be… you did good. Now lets get that kid back to the village.” Link then, after aiding him to his feet, went on to put the still unconscious kid upon his shoulder before all three began to make their way back.